A list of notable flat horse races which take place annually in Canada and which currently hold Grade 1, 2 or 3 according to the Jockey Club of Canada. [1]
Month | Race Name | Racecourse | Dist. (f) | Age/Sex |
---|---|---|---|---|
June | Highlander Stakes | Woodbine | 6 | 3yo+ |
September | Woodbine Mile | Woodbine | 8 | 3yo+ |
September | Northern Dancer Turf Stakes | Woodbine | 12 | 3yo+ |
September | Natalma Stakes | Woodbine | 8 | 2yo f |
September | Summer Stakes | Woodbine | 8 | 2yo |
October | E. P. Taylor Stakes | Woodbine | 10 | 3yo+ f |
October | Canadian International Stakes | Woodbine | 10 | 3yo+ |
Month | Race Name | Racecourse | Dist. (f) | Age/Sex |
---|---|---|---|---|
May | Eclipse Stakes | Woodbine | 8.5 | 4yo+ |
June | Nassau Stakes (Canada) | Woodbine | 8 | 3yo+ f |
June | Connaught Cup Stakes | Woodbine | 7 | 4yo+ |
June/July | King Edward Stakes | Woodbine | 8 | 3yo+ |
July | Dance Smartly Stakes | Woodbine | 10 | 3yo+ f |
July | Nijinsky Stakes | Woodbine | 12 | 3yo+ |
August | Play the King Stakes | Woodbine | 7 | 3yo+ |
August | Sky Classic Stakes | Woodbine | 11 | 3yo+ |
August | Royal North Stakes | Woodbine | 6 | 3yo+ f |
September | Canadian Stakes | Woodbine | 3 | 3yo+ f |
October | Nearctic Stakes | Woodbine | 6 | 3yo+ |
November | Bessarabian Stakes | Woodbine | 7 | 3yo+ f |
November | Autumn Stakes | Woodbine | 8.5 | 3yo+ |
November | Kennedy Road Stakes | Woodbine | 6 | 3yo+ |
Month | Race Name | Racecourse | Dist. (f) | Age/Sex |
---|---|---|---|---|
August | King's Plate | Woodbine | 10 | 3yo |
September | Prince of Wales Stakes | Fort Erie | 9.5 | 3yo |
October | Breeders' Stakes | Woodbine | 12 | 3yo |
Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in the UK and steeplechasing in the US. Jump racing can be further divided into hurdling and steeplechasing.
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic premise – to identify which of two or more horses is the fastest over a set course or distance – has been mostly unchanged since at least classical antiquity.
A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual who rode horses in racing. They must be light, typically around a weight of 100–120 lb., and physically fit. They are typically self-employed and are paid a small fee from the horse trainer and a percentage of the horse's winnings.
Woodbine Racetrack is a race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Woodbine Entertainment Group, Woodbine Racetrack manages and hosts Canada's most famous race, the King's Plate. The track was opened in 1956 with a one-mile oval dirt track, as well as a seven-eights turf course. It has been extensively remodeled since 1993, and since 1994 has had three racecourses.
Birdstone is an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2004 Belmont Stakes and has become a successful sire.
The Breeders' Cup Mile is a 1-mile (1.6 km) Grade 1 Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up, run on a grass course. It has been conducted annually as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships since the event's inception in 1984. All Breeders' Cups to date have been held in the United States except for the 1996 event in Canada.
Fair Grounds Race Course, often known as New Orleans Fair Grounds, is a thoroughbred racetrack and racino in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is operated by Churchill Downs Louisiana Horseracing Company, LLC.
Group races, also known as Pattern races, or Graded races in some jurisdictions, are the highest level of races in Thoroughbred horse racing. They include most of the world's iconic races, such as the Derby, Irish Derby and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in Europe, the Melbourne Cup in Australia, and the Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup races in the United States. Victory in these races marks a horse as being particularly talented, if not exceptional, and they are extremely important in determining stud values. They are also sometimes referred to as Black type races, since any horse that has won one of these races is printed in bold type in sales catalogues.
The Jockey Club of Canada was formed in 1973 to oversee thoroughbred horse racing in Canada. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the club is responsible for the annual Sovereign Awards program and the Canadian Graded Stakes Committee.
Todd Kabel was a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. A native of McCreary, Manitoba, he began his career as a jockey at Assiniboia Downs in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and in 1987 started competing at tracks in Ontario, moving to Toronto permanently in 1991.
The E. P. Taylor Stakes is a Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares held annually since 1956 in October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is run on the E. P. Taylor turf course at a distance of 1+1⁄4 miles.
Martin Joseph Dwyer is a retired English jockey who competed in flat racing, winning the 2006 Epsom Derby on Sir Percy and the 2003 Epsom Oaks on Casual Look.
Garrett Keith Gomez was an American Thoroughbred jockey who won two Eclipse Awards and thirteen Breeders' Cup races during his career.
The Summer Stakes is a Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid-September at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Contested on turf over a distance of 1 mile, it is open to two-year-old horses. It became a Grade II in 1999 but in 2006 was downgraded to a Grade III status. In 2012, it returned to Grade II status. In 2018, the Jockey Club of Canada moved it to Grade I status.
Robert Charles Landry is a Canadian Champion jockey in thoroughbred horse racing.
The Highlander Stakes is a Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Run in mid to late June, the Grade II race is open to horses aged three and older. Raced over a distance of six furlongs on turf, it currently offers a purse of $250,000.
Chantal Sutherland is a Canadian model, television personality and jockey in North American Thoroughbred horse racing. She is referred to as the Danica Patrick of horse racing. She is known for her appearances on the reality tv show, Jockeys on Animal Planet, as well as being the poster girl for the Del Mar racetrack. During an interview on Sky Sports in the lead-up to the Dubai World Cup race, she said that her primary vocation was jockey.
A handicap race in horse racing is a race in which horses carry different weights, allocated by the handicapper. A better horse will carry a heavier weight, to give it a disadvantage when racing against slower horses.
Luis Contreras is a Mexican jockey since 2006. After starting his career in Mexico, Contreras started competing in the United States and Canada during the late 2000s. For his graded stakes race career, Contreras has won thirty six Grade III races, twenty two Grade II races and four Grade I races. At the 2011 Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, Contreras won the Queen's Plate, Prince of Wales Stakes, and Breeders' Stakes. He became the first jockey to use two horses to win the Canadian Triple Crown. In 2014, Contreras came short of another Canadian Triple Crown after finishing tenth at the Breeders' Stakes following wins at the Queen's Plate and Prince of Wales.